Chiefs hold off Loons for 5-4 victory

PEORIA -- Steve Sabatino was sitting in the Peoria Chiefs bullpen when he watched Great Lakes left-handed hitter Paul Hoenecke launch a towering home run over the right field foul pole.

It brought controversy, and it brought the Loons to the brink of a comeback, in the eighth inning, and it brought Sabatino to the mound in the ninth.

Sabatino came in with two outs and two runners on in the ninth for a rematch against Hoenecke and got his man to lock down a 5-4 Midwest League victory Saturday for the Chiefs before 3,337 at Dozer Park.

"Slider, slider, slider, slider," said the side-arming lefty Sabatino, when asked what his plan was against Hoenecke. "I saw he had some inside power there on that home run in the eighth, when you're down in the bullpen you have a chance to study those guys the first time you see them, adjust your plan.

"He's a power pull hitter. I got him chasing an outside slider and we got out of it."

The Chiefs raced to a 4-0 lead in the first inning on a leadoff homer from Vaughn Bryan and a two-run homer from Justin Ringo. Peoria center fielder C.J. McElroy Jr. drew a walk and had two hits -- including a two-out single that plated the winning run in the seventh.

But it was a sloppy game -- 7 errors combined -- and the Chiefs watched that early lead shrink as Great Lakes scratched out single runs in the third, fifth and sixth innings.

In the eighth, Hoenecke blasted a long, towering home run above the right field foul pole off reliever Kevin Herget. Base umpire Mike Savakinas initially ruled it foul, but after talking it over with plate ump Dave Attridge, reversed the call and awarded a home run to make it 5-4.

Replays showed it was a fair ball -- although umpires in the minors don't have the benefit of using replay. Hoenecke milled around the first base line while Chiefs manager Joe Kruzel engaged in a heated argument with Savakinas. The argument drifted toward home plate, where Kruzel argued with Attridge as Hoenecke arrived from a belated home run trot.

The Chiefs sent All-star reliever Zach Loraine to the mound in the ninth, and he got the first two outs but then walked Malcolm Holland and Joey Curletta.

Up came Hoenecke. In came Sabatino.

Their six-pitch sequence ended with Hoenecke chasing a slider off the outside of the plate.

That put the Chiefs in the win column for the second straight night.

"We came out swinging really well," Sabatino said. "We did a good job building that lead. Sometimes it's hard to hold leads like that when they are so early. But we had guys playing hard, doing what had to be done."

Page 2 of 2 - CHIEFS BRIEFS: NBA veteran and former Central star Shaun Livingston was special guest at the ballpark Saturday, and signed autographs in exchange for donations to the Shaun Livingston Foundation. He was on crutches, and had his right foot in a walking boot. ... Chiefs outfielder Vaughn Bryan's leadoff homer in the first inning was the first leadoff homer for the Chiefs since Zeke DeVoss hit one against Beloit on July 30, 2012. ... Chiefs center fielder C.J. McElroy stole his 28th base, most among all minor-leaguers in the Cardinals organization.

Dave Eminian covers the Chiefs and Rivermen for the Journal Star. Reach him at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Check out his sports blog, Cleve's World, at pjstar.com and follow him on Tout and Twitter @icetimecleve.